Page 999 - Week 04 - Thursday, 7 May 2020
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The Greens have been very conscious of balancing health precautions with the desire to return to face-to-face learning as quickly as possible. Finding the right answer on this is extremely difficult. We think that the staggered return seeks to strike the right balance and allows for all the practicalities and logistics that need to be worked out.
I listened to Minister Berry on radio this morning and heard the text messages that were coming in. People have lots of practical questions, and question time today illustrated that. The opposition were asking whether there will be soap, whether there will be this or that. There is some work to be done. The staggered approach gives the capability to put all those practical and logistics questions in place and have an orderly transition back to having our students in school.
I was struck by the sheer blind confidence of Ms Lee in her position. Only weeks ago, Australia faced two very different trajectories. Were we heading down the path of the UK or were we going to end up on the path that we have ended up on? That is the context in which the minister, the Education Directorate officials and school principals had to try and take decisions. To come in here and rattle it off as though it was a linear process that we should have all known the answer to weeks ago is, frankly, surprising. It is not a linear situation. The words also fail to recognise the very diverse views in our community only weeks ago: some were urging us to close schools much faster; others wanted to continue to send their children there. People were uncertain.
We need to come to this debate recognising the decision-making environment that we have been operating in. The Chief Minister outlined that in terms of looking at where the different states are at. I think his point there was valid, in that we are seeing different decisions being taken in different jurisdictions. I am really conscious that it is not just about the children; it is also about having a safe environment for adults that go to the school spaces: the staff, the parents and various others. It is an enormously complex decision-making process. As I said, I think the simplicity with which it was presented by Ms Lee was somewhat surprising.
I want to finish by making a few acknowledgements. I have touched on the directorate and the staff already. They have done an amazing job to rapidly design and implement a new online curriculum. It has been an enormous change to the way education is delivered.
I have heard a mixture of feedback. I know that some parents think it has been problematic. I have heard other parents talk about the fact that their children have found it very engaging and that some children have felt that it has been quite beneficial to them because they have been less distracted. Again, this reflects the diversity of views that are out there. But the impressive part has been the shift, and I want to acknowledge that. A lot of people have worked extremely hard to put that in place.
I also want to acknowledge the challenge that parents have faced. That has come up in today’s discussion. Again, I have heard quite a mixture of feedback. Some parents have, frankly, found it really stressful and found it very challenging, particularly those
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